Virginia Tech places five faculty on Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list
Five Virginia Tech researchers have been named to the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list for demonstrating significant influence in their fields or across multiple fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.
“I congratulate our researchers on earning their place on the prestigious Clarivate Highly Cited list, placing among the most cited researchers in the world,” said Virginia Tech Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Dan Sui. “The scientific community benefits from their scholarly achievements and intellectual contributions that seek to tackle some of the world’s grandest challenges.”
Compiled by Clarivate, a global company that provides data and maintains the Web of Science, the annual list identified 6,600 researchers from across the globe who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.
The Highly Cited Researchers’ names were drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index, and the list identifies the research institutions and countries where they are based. Citation counts are a traditional and key measure of impact.
“It is increasingly important for nations and institutions to recognize and support the exceptional researchers who are driving the expansion of the world’s knowledge,” according to a statement from David Pendlebury, senior citation analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate. “This list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at Virginia Tech who are having a significant impact on the research community as evidenced by the rate at which their work is being cited by their peers. The research they have contributed is fueling the innovation, sustainability, health and security that is key for our society’s future.”
Two of the five Virginia Tech researchers received the distinction of being cited across multiple fields, an additional indicator that their work is being widely read. And, most of the Virginia Tech researchers have been recognized on this list multiple consecutive years.
Virginia Tech faculty members on the list include:
Warren Bickel, an addiction researcher and the Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, was cited for studies that crossed multiple fields, including a seminal study on why people with heroin-use issues make unhealthy short-term choices at the expense of the future. Bickel, whose research helped pioneer medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, identified key decision-making processes central to addiction and addiction recovery. He is the director of the Addiction Recovery Research Center and the Center for Health Behaviors Research at the institute, and is also a professor of psychology in the College of Science.
Wenjing Lou, the W.C. English Endowed Professor of Computer Science, has made innovative and widely cited research contributions in a diverse set of challenging security and privacy contexts, including problems arising in wireless networks, mobile ad hoc networks, sensor networks, network management and routing, and data security and privacy in the cloud. Lou, who also holds a courtesy appointment in electrical and computer engineering and is an affiliate faculty member of the Virginia Tech led- Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, has been an IEEE Fellow since 2015 and founded the IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security.
Lina Quan, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Science, was cited for studies that cross multiple fields, focusing on the optical and electronic properties of emerging semiconductors such as perovskites for use in next-generation optoelectronic applications. With her research group, Quan employs a number of cutting-edge characterization techniques (ultrafast lasers, synchrotron x-ray) to study the photophysics of materials and devices with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Applications for her research are: light harvesting, light emitting, and other related optoelectronic devices.
Walid Saad, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and IEEE Fellow, was cited for research at the intersection of wireless networks, artificial intelligence (AI), game theory, and cyber-physical systems, including seminal contributions to drone communications, edge AI, and emerging wireless systems (e.g., 5G/6G). Saad, an expert in wireless systems and AIs, leads the Network Science, Wireless, and Security Laboratory and is a member of Wireless@VT, aims to lay the foundation of AI-native wireless 6G systems that exploit brain-like intelligence and reasoning to support the unique needs of emerging applications, such as wireless extended reality, which will constitute the cornerstone of the anticipated metaverse.
Zheng Xiang, associate professor and head of hospitality and tourism management in the Pamplin College of Business, was cited for his research that includes travelers’ use of information technology, digital marketing strategies, emergent technologies, and social media analytics. His research focuses on the strategic implications of information technologies for the hospitality and tourism industry. He served as president of the International Federation for IT and Travel and Tourism and currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Information Technology and Tourism.
